Members of the largest labor union in the San Juans will receive a 2-percent wage increase this year and the two that follow, along with a continuation of healthcare benefits as they exist today, under a new two-year contract with San Juan County.

Ratified Feb. 27 by a sizable majority of Local 1849 (AFSCME), which represents about 136 county workers, the latest contract proposal was approved March 3 by the county council, according to a county issued press release.

The union rejected a tentative agreement in late November and began the new year without a renewed collective bargaining agreement. The latest contract expired at the end of 2014.

Negotiations on a new contract began in August.

“The agreement took longer than I think either party would have guessed back in August, but the outcome is a fair agreement that supports the county’s employees while at the same time being fiscally responsible,” county Manager Mike Thomas said in the press release.

The parties reportedly reached an agreement through a first-ever use of an “interest-based bargaining model.” It also includes revisions to clarify the calculation of overtime, bereavement leave, grievance procedures and allowance for safety wear.

Union officials cited, in part, a disparity between recent salary raises for management and “non-represented” positions and the pay hikes initially proposed for union members in rejecting earlier contract offers from the county. The county workforce includes about 50 non-union represented jobs, including 11 elected officials.

“The member’s rejection of the first tentative agreement in November made it clear that more work needed to be done to craft an equitable agreement,” said union President Colin Maycock.

In addition to members of Local 1849, roughly 30 employees within the sheriff’s department are represented by Sheriff’s Guild and provisions of a separate collective bargaining agreement with the county.

— Scott Rasmussen